The first and most ferocious pogrom in Lviv was orchestrated by German Nazis and local Ukrainian nationalists on June 30th, 1941. They played the Jewish-Bolshevik canard which paved the way for The Holocaust.
Within 24 hours of German forces arriving in Lviv, nationalists (primarily, not exclusively OUN-B) had already promoted violent antisemitic actions by accusing the new majority Jewish population of NKVD murders (1,000+ killed in three prisons).
Brygidki prison on Horodotska Street and Lontsky prison on what is known today as Stepan Bandera Street were the flashpoints on July 1st. Atrocities continued under the watch of Ukrainian nationalists and they spread across the city.
Ukrainian nationalists were seeking to curry favour with the new occupiers, Nazis, in order to realize their dream of forming an independent Ukrainian state. This started and ended on June 30th in Lviv.
In reality, Germany only needed Ukrainian thugs to assist security and enforce racial policy as part of what would soon become Operation Reinhard, and it found many willing to help.
Ukrainians were instrumental in the murders which began on Tuesday morning, July 1st, peaking on Saturday, July 5th (4,000+ killed). Further days of violence ensued between July 25th-29th (2,000+ killed).
The perpetrators were German soldiers, Ukrainian nationalists, common Ukrainians, and a Ukrainian "militia mob" armed with knives and farm tools.
They were brought to Lviv from villages by OUN-B. The victims were Jewish people.
Youths were photographed chasing a half-naked, bloodied woman (photo, page top) who may have been murdered.
I have overheard people describing this woman as "a prostitute who didn't pay her landlord". We must ask, has anything changed?
US soldiers discovered disturbing 8mm footage in SS barracks (Augsberg, Germany) that clearly shows terrified Jewish women being beaten by Ukrainian men wielding iron bars.
Many people were murdered on the streets of Lviv in broad daylight, ergo one would expect to be able to visit memorials to the victims today. Where are they?
On Zamarstynivska one can find "Monument in honor of victims of political repression". In order of some "priority"; Ukrainians, Poles, then Jews. This mocks the memory of those who were murdered in the Lviv pogroms. Why?
Focus on Ukrainians as victims when they were the perpetrators.
The monument is 100 metres from Medova where some of the most extreme violence carried out by Ukrainians took place, 200 metres from the bridge where 5,000+ sick and elderly Jewish people were murdered at the end of 1941.
There are appropriate memorials at the sites of the Progressive Synagogue and Great Synagogue, either side of Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street. The former space has become a drinkers den, while a children's playground has been hastily assembled over the latter. Both synagogues were destroyed by Nazis.
The Lviv pogroms began in prisons, most notably Brygidki and Lontsky. Derisory memorial plaques feature, neither make mention of Jewish victims.
The narrative is about "victims of Soviet crimes". They whitewash the Lviv pogroms, and that means revisionism approved by Lviv City Council.
The world still waits for answers from Ukraine about exactly what happened in Lviv between July 1st, 1941 and 1944. Events in Lviv and environs in this period had far-reaching consequences that are still felt across Europe.
From 14.03.2026, news relating to Lviv pogroms will be posted here and linked from Lviv News. LHRF is the only website about The Holocaust in Lviv, Ukraine that is updated regularly.
Read more about why the 1941 Lviv pogroms set a dangerous precedent and became a key accelerant in nascent Holocaust actions:
Lviv's Shameful Past
Ukrainian Nationalists I / II / III
Incompatible Experiences
Ordinary Perpetrators
The Holocaust began in Lviv Region
Photos taken by German Soldiers
Perpetrated by Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN)
Background of the Pogroms in 1941
Photo I Ukrainians and Poles watched everything from their windows.
Photo II Where Tempel Synagogue stood is now a place for street drinkers.
Photo III Lviv continues to besmirch Jewish people with the word "INTELLIGENSIA".
Photo IV Who lived here in 1941 and are their descendants living in Lviv today?
Photo V The Great Synagogue site is popular with alcoholics and families.
Photo VI Remnants of The Great Synagogue have all but disappeared.
Photo VII A reinforced foundation stone that survived the destruction.
Photo VIII A broken playground swing. Not unlike how Lviv respects history.
Photo IX It is tradition in Lviv to build playgrounds over Jewish heritage.
Photo X Look to the left, where people past and present are gathered.
Photo XI Kids. Adults. Innocence. Ignorance. Who built this Playground Twist
Photo XII Small memorial plaque around which street drinkers congregate.
Photo XIII Offensive antisemitic graffiti is ever-present beside the plaque.
Photo XIV The graffiti in black paint ("fayna", "fayka") is local dialect for d***.
Photo XV The figure of a Jewish man carrying a basket of bread appeared in 2020.
Photo XVI The graffiti in pink paint may have some FSB / Communist "meaning".
Photo XVII Medova street buildings are exactly the same today as in 1941.
Photo XVIII The brood of these kids could be 55 years old now in 2021. In Lviv?
Photo XIX Basic colourisation delivers a new and very disturbing reality.
Photo XX It is not known if this Jewish lady survived. Some say suicide.
Photo XXI She ran alongside this wall at this point to protect herself.
Photo XXII However, more Ukrainian assailants of all backgrounds lay ahead.
Photo XXIII The ruts in the wall from 1941 are still with us in 2021, 80 years later.
Photo XXIV Medova street is still watched over by the local underclass.
Photo XXV A sense of fear and captivity persists in this forsaken place.
Photo XXVI Old basement windows have been sealed shut and iron-barred.
Photo XXVII Who was living behind this door at 10, Medova street in 1941?
Photo XXVIII Obscure swastika and indecipherable graffiti on Medova street.
Photo XXIX One side of this municipal building still dominates Medova street.
Photo XXX Malevich and Pink Show Girls is how Lviv remembers its pogroms.
Photo XXXI An elderly Jewish man being assaulted on Kryva Lypa passage.
Photo XXXII Kryva Lypa has undergone repairs since 1941 but the location is clear.
Photo XXXIII Pogrom violence behind Lviv Opera House in early July, 1941.
Photo XXXIV The same location in 2021. Precise within a couple of metres.
Photo XXXV A watchful Ukrainian male participates in this colour "Carnival".
Photo XXXVI Another colourised Ukrainian male laughs at the violence.
Photo XXXVII Here is the demented Ukrainian kid again, a colour close-up.
Photo XXXVIII Taking NKVD victims to relatives and blaming Jewish people.
Photo XXXIX Colourisation. Look at the crowds. The Ukrainians are fascinated.
Photo XL The same location in 2021. Focus on the black balcony, right side.
Photo XLI Ukrainians mocking scared Jewish people in front of Lviv Opera House.
Photo XLII Colourisation. The Jewish girl is terrified about what will come next.
Photo XLIII Colourisation. Pogroms and The Holocaust came next. It began in Lviv.
Photo XLIV Spot the original "Hero of Ukraine" with his giveaway white armband.
Photo XLV Colourisation. The young Jewish girl is on her knees. Glory to Heroes.
Photo XLVI Four against one. The white armband makes yet another star turn.
Photo XLVII Colourisation. Jewish civilians were seized, beaten then murdered.
Photo XLVIII A crowd of Ukrainians surround and kick a terrified Jewish lady.
Photo XLIX Ukrainian nationalists show the world how to respect women.
